Day 165-167 – Boise, ID – August 5th-7th, 2011

I arrived late Friday, around 11:30PM at my couch surfing host’s place.  They were happy to accommodate me and my late arrival.  I shared a beer with Andrew and then headed to bed.  The next day I woke up and went out for a run exploring the foothills around Boise, since the area is quite dry there are tons of trails that run through grassy fields and hills, with great overlooks of the city, it was a bit hot but I still managed to get a good run in.  When I returned I had just enough time to get cleaned up before Sinjge (another couchsurfer from Singapore working in Boise for 6 months) arrived.  Andrew let me borrow a bike and we took the scenic route down the greenway to the park where the fest was being held.  We arrived just before noon and the crowds so we could sample all the finest brews.  There were at least 200 beers on draft.  All the samples you could drink!  We started out with a variety of beers from Idaho, Hawaii, and Oregon, of course we skipped the Budweiser and PBR products.  We met up with several of Andrew’s friends and had a great afternoon.  Eventually we took a lunch break and rode over to a Basque restaurant for lunch called Bar Gernika.  Afterwards we headed straight back to the festival for more sampling.  Eventually around 6PM, we headed back to Andrew’s and met up with Julie and Andrew’s sister for dinner.  We spent the rest of the evening relaxing and watching “500 days of summer”.  The next day I took to the Greenway for some running.   Boise really is a great town, lots of bike paths, not too big (Population at 187,000) and plenty of outdoor activities in the area.  I really enjoy it here.  It’ also home of the college football team?  Where they have the blue astro turf.  Sunday afternoon Andrew was heading back to the beerfest, I decided to decline and instead met with Amelia to float the river that runs through the middle of the city.  The city has a shuttle service and even airhoses provided at the put in for inflating your raft or inner tube.  It’s a great way to spend a hot afternoon outside.  Amelia invited me to a cookout with her afterwards, and then we headed back to Andrew snd Julie’s to make them my world famous fajitas.  The next day I headed out early on my way to Oregon’s Hells Canyon.


Photo Album:  FTF Day 165-167